Top 10 Things to Do in GTA 5 Before Beginning Your Life of Crime in GTA 6

The trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6 has finally arrived, showing off some exciting scenic aspects of the game and giving a general release timeframe.

You’ve still got until 2025 to have some fun in GTA 5 and so with that, here’s the top 10 things to do in GTA 5 before the release of GTA 6.

10. Practice Your Flying

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One of the things that makes Grand Theft Auto so special is the way you can transition from a car to a plane or helicopter with ease. You can pull right up to the airport and find something that suits your fancy, or if you want something a little more aggressive, you can make your way up to Fort Zancudo and steal a fighter jet. Anyone can do it with enough practice, and it’ll add a whole new level of diversity to your gameplay.

If you need an objective to fly towards and aren’t interested in drifting idly through the city, you’re always able to start up a race to really test your skills against other players. Either way, you can have a blast in the cockpit of whatever flying vehicle you choose, and it’ll make it a bit easier to escape those pesky cops when you’re off the ground. Or, you can use it to attract police attention — really, the choice is yours.

9. Build Your Criminal Empire

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There’s an absolute ton of things to do in Los Santos, most of which revolve around some semblance of criminal activity. Whether it be gun running, leading a biker gang, owning a nightclub or completing heists, Rockstar has spent the last 10 years packing GTA Online full of plenty of content to keep players satiated.

There’s an almost overwhelming amount of content to try and enjoy, so if you’ve got the time and the money (in-game or out, I won’t judge), there’s plenty that’s worth giving a shot. You’re always going to be getting phone calls from various characters in the game, so you may as well answer a couple of them and make some real profit doing it.

8. Finish the Story

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After 10 years, it might be hard to remember that there’s even a story mode to GTA 5. They released the Online mode on a delay just because they knew how popular that was going to be and they didn’t want it to distract from the story, so if you got diverted by Online and never finished the rest of the game, now’s the time!

There’s plenty of compelling scriptwriting that’s both hilarious and somber, and anyone can find something in there to enjoy for themselves. Not only that, but there are so many side missions in the story mode alone, if you’re not feeling like focusing on the main storyline, you can always find yourself getting distracted by all the other things there are to do in the world. Not to mention, you can use some cheats in the story mode to make your experience more…unique.

The story of GTA 5 is filled with some of the most colorful characters you can imagine, living in a reality that’s crass, undignified and disrespectful. There’s a glimpse into an overly exaggerated version of many different walks of life, from gang violence to bank robberies to government institutions. Playing a game like Grand Theft Auto 5 is an experience that you’re not going to be able to get from many other games.

7. Collect Your Favorite Cars

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This is going to turn out to be more important than you might realize, because Rockstar likes to carry some of their brand names from game to game. This really helps build out the world into something more all-encompassing, bringing aspects from different games in the franchise forward into the new titles. If you’ve got some favorite cars in GTA 5, don’t be surprised if you see them or an iteration of them in the next game.

Big fan of your Grotti Turismo R? Keep that name in mind because you can use it to build up your collection in GTA 6. Maybe you’re more of an off-road type, so you should keep the BF Bifta in mind in case you want to stick to what you already know. Regardless of your preferences, you can customize them to your liking, from the paint job down to the license plate.

6. Finally Turn in Some Simeon Vehicles

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Look, he’s been a thorn in all of our sides since the start of the campaign, but Simeon is one of those side characters that’s just never gonna go away. If ya can’t beat him, you may as well make a little bit of money off of him. Knowing your car brands is also going to be huge if you want to really make some dough with him, because he’ll only take specific cars at a time.

Nothing is more annoying than breaking into a car to get from point A to point B, only to find out that it was a Simeon vehicle and now you’ve got two stars. If you’ve got to lose them anyway, you may as well just try and make some lemonade and deliver the car for the guy. That being said, if you’re up in the very north of the map, it might just be better to forget that car and get a new one because the drop point is all the way at the bottom of the map, and you’ll still have to get it resprayed on the way.

5. Make Some Friends

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Los Santos and San Andreas as a whole have an incredibly wide variety of people living in it. If you’re up North, you’re likely to find some more rugged, abrasive types while in the city you’ll be met with the more posh, uptight sort. Each area’s got its advantages over the other, but no matter where you look, there’s always going to be something to do.

Not only will the character models change as you make your way around the map, but the dialogue will shift to suit whoever you’re around. Even if you can’t hold a full conversation with them, just listening to some of the NPCs as they talk on the phone or walk down the street can be…enlightening. There are times where you’ll find very polite people who want no trouble, but there there are others where someone will be rude, only to find out that they’ve just insulted the wrong person.

4. Escape a 5-Star Wanted Level

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Not only is it the name of the franchise, but grand theft auto is also a rather heinous crime to commit, and with that it’ll garner some police attention. If you’re playing GTA and you’re not having run ins with the cops, you’re probably doing something wrong. Whether it’s getting into gunfights, stealing cars, robbing stores and starting street brawls, the cops are sure to always be on your tail.

If they’re gonna be following you anyway, you may as well make it worth their while! Why not get the whole military involved while you’re at it, starting a rampage so dangerous that they need to send out out the biggest guns they can think of to stop you. Get to five stars, and you’ll have some trouble on your hands, but nothing says “stick it to the man” like attracting military attention and slipping away scot-free.

3. Duke It Out With a Hacker in GTA Online

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If there’s two things you can expect when loading up a public session of GTA Online, it’s long load times and hackers. Sometimes, those hackers will be helpful and arbitrarily give you millions of dollars, but other times they’ll do nothing but make your life as difficult as possible. Every time I load in, I’m shocked by the new and interesting ways that people have found to make my life absolutely terrible.

One time, I was just driving my car through the city and minding my business, when suddenly I was joined by a passenger without even having stopped. Then, before I could really acknowledge them, they were gone, but my car had sprouted tires that were twice as wide as before, and the color was cycling through the rainbow before landing on a bright pink. Luckily, this didn’t cause any issues in my game, but it’s always interesting to see what the hackers are keeping up their sleeves.

2. Find Some Easter Eggs

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When you’ve got a map as incredibly large and in-depth as GTA 5, there’s plenty of room to hide little secrets here and there. That’s exactly what Rockstar did, making little moments throughout the world feel more mysterious than they ever needed to be. You can head to the mountains and aim at a very specific spot at a specific time of day and see a ghost, or you can find the alien under the ice in the prologue that’s always smiling and waiting for you.

There will be little blips on the map here and there where you can go to the small blue dot to find something interesting all over the map. Sometimes you’ll track down a skeleton washed up on the beach, and other times you’ll have to follow a trail of flares to get the money and RP at the end. Regardless of what it is, usually it serves as a fun way to make a quick buck.

1. Enjoy the Side Quests

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Along with all of the main story missions in both the campaign and Online, there are plenty of side missions scattered all throughout Los Santos that’ll liven the world for you exponentially. There’s stunt-skydiving jumps, races galore, businesses to get involved with and way, way more to fill your time while you make your way across San Andreas.

There are also much longer side quests to follow that give rewards at the end, like the Case of Leonora Johnson. You’ll have to travel the map and collect scraps of paper that piece together a mystery, or you can just go around and try to find little collectible action figures that are hidden. Regardless of what you choose, if you play your cards right you’ll never find a dull moment in GTA V.

If you’re looking forward to GTA 6, now’s the time to check out the trailer and see just what’s going to be in store once the game releases in 2025.